Prank during a rainy day
by SCP-blank
Summary: It was a rainy, boring day so the two Marauders played another prank.


It started as a boring day. Remus was sick which for the first time had nothing to do with his furry little problem and Peter was away visiting his family for a few days because his grandfather was finally about to kick the bucket, so to speak, and his parents needed him for moral support.

It was an ordinary Tuesday and it was raining outside. The leftover half of Marauders were bored and a bored Marauder always hinted trouble.

Sirius was staring out the window of the Divination classroom and James was taking a nap. Sirius was trying to remember the dream he had last night, something to do with a missing...

"Ha!" Sirius exclaimed out of nowhere, making James almost fall of his chair and other students glare at them (the divination professor being the absent minded weirdo that he was didn't notice a thing). James cursed but he saw Sirius's expression. It was an expression one prankster had after coming up with a new prank.

It was a face of a genius.  
Well, sort of. If you could associate anything smart with Sirius Black's face.

"Well?" James whispered furiously. "What is it?" Sirius Black smirked at his best friend.

"It, my superb mate Prongs, is a perfect thing we need to clear up this lifeless rainy day." James rolled his eyes but looked around to make sure no one else could hear them, glaring at one Ravenclaw who was spying on them unsuccessfully. Marauders had quite a reputation and sensible people tended to run to hide in caves or broom closets (as they were more convenient) when they felt a new prank was coming. James signaled to Padfoot to play along (they had a huge arsenal of signs for every occasion) and suddenly cried out as if in pain.

"Aah!" James screamed, clutching his stomach while Sirius pretended to be nauseous. It took a few minutes for the professor to notice them and then he immediately decided they needed to visit the hospital wing.

* * *

Sirius and James were eating their desert at kitchens (as Sirius refused to disclose his _perfect_plan with his stomach empty) and Sirius started explaining his idea. First Sirius told James about his dream about Slughorn, their potion's teacher, who had gone missing and was later found dead in his teacher quarters, looking like a human-shaped fermented cheese.

"Cheese? That's your brilliant idea?" James stated disappointed. "Cheese is soo last season." He said, reminding Sirius about last year's prank on Slytherins.  
"If you just shut up and let me _explain _it to you." Sirius said annoyed. "As if I think that copying ourselves is acceptable or worthwhile." He made a haughty face that Slytherins were thought to have patented. "No, this is far more brilliant. I'm just sad that Monny and Wormtail won't be a part of it."

"Why? We could just wait for Pete to come back and Remus to get better and plan in the meanwhile." James said, thinking that pranks that were Sirius's idea tended to be rather rushed and risky and always resulted in them serving a detention. And James couldn't get a detion now when he was so undoubtedly close to getting that date from Evans.

"But professor Dumbledore and McG and Sprout are gone today to the scholar's conference*.. the _entire _day. And we'd get caught instantly if they was around. It's perfect!" Sirius exclaimed with a dreamy expression on his face.

"So tell me, dammit! Stop baiting, Padfoot!" James shouted and Sirius leaned in, making sure that kitchen house elves couldn't hear him.

"We're going to need a muggle magazine..." Sirius said, conspiratorially.

* * *

After the lunch break was over, the two marauders made their way to the Charms classroom. Both Sirius and James had their game face on which meant that they were actively trying to stop fidgeting from excitement.

During the break the two had cut out a face from Sirius's muggle magazine (Not _Playboy_, suprisingly enough, though _the Classic MotorCycle_had more than enough of babes for them to use in their scheme) and stuck it to the annual Gobstone club's photo, later going as far as making it seem as though there was another student.

Flitwick, they knew, had a penchant for keeping photo's of various school clubs, especially the ones he helped to organise, like _Charms Club_where Evans and her friends had the monopoly.

So, going to the charms classroom, Sirius, upon passing the wall, decorated with photos, replaced one of them with his fake one, using an elementary house hold charm.

As Sirius had explained to James, their scheme was brilliant in its simplicity.

When the rest of the students seated themselves in their respective places Flitwick, without checking their attendance as he did most of the year except perhaps on test days, had began going on about the colour changing charms only to be interrupted by James Potter, raising his hand.

"Professor?" James inquired.

"Yes, Mr. Potter."

"Why is July Andrews not here, sir?" He sounded a tad concerned as he gazed into the minutive teacher.

"Who - ?" Flitwick stopped himself mid sentence, going red in his vaguely goblin like face. He was embarrassed to let his students think that he didn't remember his pupils.

Now, this was obviously not true, because no Julie Andrews existed, but Flitwick was exhausted after an all nighter so he fell for the scheme.

"The Hufflepuff?" Sirius pitched in. "Short blonde hair, very quiet, sits in the back?" He gestured to the table behind him, were two absent places of Remus and Peter were.

"No, I-" Flitwick felt confused as he tried to ease the classroom.

"She attended gobstones with Peter, look." James pointed to the gobstone photo were amongst the rows of heads, a blonde thin teenager looked at the camera, unblinking.

"Oh, my." Flitwick let out as he tried to puzzle out where exactly Julie Andrews had gone.

Fifth year Griffindors and Hufflepuffs were muttering uncomfortably, some wondering what the Marauders were once again cooking up (Evans being amongst them) and others ashamed of not knowing who the hell was Julie Andrews, the quiet blonde hufflepuff.

"Dorcas, you remember Andrews, don't you?" Dorcas Meadowes was a Hufflepuff, always concerned with keeping her image pristine though overall Marauders held her in high regard for being a good sport, as Remus would put it.

Also, she had a rather large crush on Sirius, therefore was known to agree with him all the time.

"Yes, of course, I roomed with her for five years, how could I forget!" She let out a fake laugh as she nodded her assent.

Under the table James and Sirius slammed their fists in a celebratory move.

* * *

By the dinner time, the whole castle was antsy, students were gossiping about a student that has gone missing, Professors were ready to tear their hair out as they tried to remember the missing student.

Some rumours said she was kidnapped by death eaters, others said she committed suicide in the forbidden forest because nobody remembered her.

Of course, the reasonable thing was to check the register but only McGonagall had the access to it and she was out. It was, simply the perfect set up for a prank if not for the fact that eventually Flitcwick, jitter, had demanded groups of upper year students to go comb the Forbidden Forest.

James and Sirius were besides themselves in excitement but not all shared their elation, particularly not one Lily Evans, who after sibilating with her best friend Snape, informed Flitwick that they should wait for the other three professors to come back.

The Charms professor dismissed her advice immediately - he was scared of being held responsible for losing a student.

So, together in small groups fifth years and older students went to the Forbidden Forest along their professors, the luckiest getting a few splinters while others got the scare of their lives.

Suffice to say, the three professors - Dumbledore, McGonagall and Sprout - were shocked to find the whole Hospital wing filled with impaired students and anxious professors, some of whom were crying in despair.

Then Lily Evans, giddy with thoughts of revenge, pointed her finger towards the two Marauders, and they had to confess under pressure.

The last thing James Potter said to her as the two were ushered to Filch's office to start their year long punishment, was: "I thought we had something, Evans-", proving once again that purebloods could not take any hints.


End file.
